Darkness Within
by yukikoneko1990
Summary: The darkness is ever growing. It's consuming his heart and soul. He wants to scream but he can't. He wants to call for help but his lips are sealed. The darkness is ever growing. Soon there will be nothing left of him. SLASH, GRAPHIC DEPICTIONS OF VIOLENCE
1. Consuming

**The song that inspired and is featuring in this story is 'Seven Devils' owned and performed by Florence and the Machine. I claim no rights to the song.**

**Teen Wolf belongs to Jeff Davis. I claim no rights to anything connected to the Teen Wolf fandom. I make no profit from writing and/or posting this story.**

**Please, enjoy the story and tell me what you think about it.**

* * *

"Stiles? Stiles!"

Whiskey colored eyes snapped into focus and looked up into confused brown eyes.

"Dude, are you okay? You've spaced out on me again." Scott murmured and looked around the dining hall to see where the rest of his Pack was. They were on their way over to where he and Stiles were sitting. Scott looked at Stiles again and frowned when he saw the dull look in his best friend's eyes.

"Stiles?"

"I'm okay, Scott." Stiles said and slowly stood up. Scott's frown deepened when Stiles bowed his head and turned his back on him. "I'll see you in Economics." Stiles murmured and left.

"Stiles?" Isaac frowned when the smaller teen brushed beside him without looking at him. Isaac looked at Allison, and the Huntress shook her head. They walked over to Scott and nodded at him. A moment later Lydia, Ethan, Danny and Aiden joined them and took seats around their usual table.

"What's wrong with Stiles?" Allison asked immediately and Scott shook his head.

"I don't know. He's been acting strange for the past few days."

"Problems at home?" Danny asked and Scott frowned.

"No. The Sheriff knows the truth now, and as much as mom told me he's okay with everything. He's been hanging out with her more and they talked. She said he's come to grips with the whole Werewolf business." Danny nodded at him and smiled at Ethan when the Alpha squeezed his hand.

"How are _you_ coming along?" Allison asked and Danny shrugged.

"It explains a _lot_ actually." He said and Ethan chuckled lowly. "The existence of Werewolves and Kanima makes more sense than the nonsense everyone's been spewing about everything that happened in Beacon Hills in the past year."

"Sure makes more sense than _mountain lions_." Lydia murmured and the others chuckled. "But back to what's important." She looked at Scott and their Alpha frowned. "Do you have _any_ idea what could be wrong with Stiles?"

"I don't know." Scott admitted and bowed his head slightly. "He's been acting strange ever since we've dealt with Ms. Blake and Deucalion; ever since we-…"

"Sacrificed yourselves to stop her?" Aiden interrupted him and Scott nodded. "The Emissary _did_ warn you that there would be consequences."

"And we _do_ feel them." Allison said and exchanged a glance with Scott. "At least _I _feel it. It's like – like a cold hand around my heart; like all my doubts and fears are amplified and I have to fight constantly to keep them at bay." Scott nodded.

"I feel that way too. Deaton said that it's the consequence of the sacrifice. We basically _died_. He said that a part of us took a piece of the afterlife with us, and that we will carry it in our souls for the rest of our lives. It's not _comfortable_ but it's bearable." Allison nodded and smiled at Isaac when he squeezed her hand comfortingly.

Scott swallowed over a lump and looked away from them.

It hurt; seeing them together like that hurt.

But he couldn't stand between them. In his heart he _knew_ he couldn't stop whatever was going on between his Beta and Allison. It didn't mean he could just erase the feelings growing in his heart. Seeing them growing closer with each passing day, seeing the smiles on Allison's face growing more honest, seeing the tension leaving Isaac's body; it was tearing him apart.

But he couldn't do anything.

He was their Alpha now.

The interest of the Pack came before his own needs.

It didn't mean that he couldn't feel the pain.

The darkness around his heart amplified it exponentially.

He was at the point where he could barely look at them when they were together.

Talking with Deaton helped somewhat. Talking with his mom at least made him sleep lighter.

Maybe if he talked with Stiles he would be able to deal with his problem while finding out what was bothering Stiles as well.

He failed his best friend, his _brother,_ too many times in the past.

He promised to himself that he would change. He promised that he would become a better man, a better son, a better friend. He promised not to betray Stiles' trust again.

And he wouldn't.

"I'll go to his house." He said and everyone looked at him. He raised his head and nodded. "I'll go over to his house after school and talk to him. Both Allison and I feel the consequences of the Sacrifice we made in a similar way. Stiles may be different somehow." Everyone frowned at that.

"But he's human." Allison said. "If _anyone_ should be feeling different consequences it should be _you_, Scott."

"I wouldn't bet on that." Lydia murmured and Allison looked at her. "Stiles has always been different."

"If you're talking about his ADHD and his _constant_ need to know everything-…"

"No." Lydia interrupted Danny and the goalie frowned at her. "Stiles is – he's _different_. He thinks differently, reacts in a way _no one_ would expect _anyone_ to react; despite _everything_ he maintains an iron hard control over himself, and he _never_ shows what he really feels." Scott raised an eyebrow at her and Lydia returned equally. "What? Stiles isn't the only one in this Pack who _observes_."

"But it seems he's the only one who _sees_ more than we do." Ethan said and looked at his twin. "You remember the night at the hospital?"

"You mean when he broke the baseball bat on our heads?" Aiden drawled and Ethan smirked.

"It was a good swing." He murmured.

"It takes real power to break something on a werewolf." Aiden added and the rest of the Pack frowned in contemplation.

"We need to talk to him as soon as possible." Isaac said and looked at Scott. "With Derek and Cora gone and Peter going MIA, we need to stick together. Stiles is important." Scott nodded.

"Too important to lose." He murmured.

"Why do you think you could lose him?" Danny asked in confusion. "He's like – like the _incarnation_ of the perfect sidekick."

"He's far from a sidekick." Scott corrected and Danny raised an eyebrow at him. "Stiles is my brother. I've failed him far too many times. If there's something wrong I need to do something. I need to make sure he's alright. I need to make sure nothing bad happens to him." He bowed his head and fisted his hands on the table. His head snapped up and his eyebrows vanished under his bangs when Isaac covered his right hand and Allison covered his left.

"You have us now, Scott; _all_ of us. We'll handle this together." Allison said and Isaac nodded.

"We're Pack. We're Family. We leave no one behind." Scott smiled slightly at them and looked at the others. Lydia nodded at him, Danny smiled, and Aiden and Ethan smirked at him.

"Yeah." He murmured and smiled at them. "No one is left behind."

* * *

Stiles walked into his house and closed the door. He let his bag fall on the ground and all but dragged his feet as he walked up the stairs towards his room. He stopped in front of the door and frowned when he found a piece of paper sticking to it. He tugged it off of the time worn wood and read his father's messy handwriting.

_I'll be home late. Order yourself something for dinner.__  
__Love you,__  
__dad._

He scrunched up the note and entered his room. He threw it in the trashcan and walked over to his bed. He fell on it and buried his face in the pillow. He pushed his hands under it, squeezed his eyes tightly shut and held his breath.

He was cold; incredibly so.

No matter what he did, no matter how hard he tried he couldn't ignore it.

The darkness was growing.

It was consuming his heart and soul.

He wanted to scream but he couldn't.

He wanted to call for help but his lips were sealed.

The darkness was growing.

Soon there would be nothing left of him.

He took a deep breath and all but jumped off of the bed. He paced the room, trying to concentrate on breathing. He could feel it creeping up on him. He could feel it spreading.

He stopped in his tracks and opened his eyes, and his breath hitched in his throat.

He looked at his reflection in the full length mirror and swallowed over a lump that appeared in his throat.

His skin was pale and clammy. His hair was sticking to his sweaty forehead. His clothes hung on his thin frame.

He took a slow step forward.

He started shivering and his breathing turned shallow and quick.

The temperature in the room started dropping.

His breath fanned on the glass, coloring the surface milky white before the condensation dried.

He swallowed difficultly and looked into his eyes.

Every single hair on his body stood up and goose bumps appeared on his skin. A steel, cold hand gripped his heart and the darkness consumed his mind.

Black started to seep over his irises and his lips pulled into an evil smirk.

He tried to stop it.

He tried to move.

He tried to scream.

He tried to fight it.

But he couldn't.

'_You're **mine**.'_

"Stiles?"

And just like that it was gone.

"Stiles!"

He turned on his heel and let go of a shivering breath when his eyes met Scott's. The young Alpha frowned at him and slowly took a step into the room.

"Scott?" his voice broke and Scott tilted his head to the side in confusion.

"Stiles, are you alright?"

He wanted to scream, he wanted to cry out, he wanted to beg for help, but the words were stuck somewhere in his throat.

"Yeah." The voice that came out of his mouth was his.

But the words weren't.

"I'm fine. Just – just a bit jumpy." Scott's frown deepened and Stiles took a deep breath. He ran his fingers through his hair and walked over to his bed to take a seat. "How did you get in?" he asked and Scott took a seat in Stiles' chair.

"The door was unlocked. Stiles, is something wrong? You've been acting strange for days."

'_Everything's wrong, Scott! Can't you see it?! Can't you smell it?!'_ Stiles screamed in his mind, but his lips didn't form those words. Instead he smiled at Scott and shrugged.

"I guess I'm just more affected by what we did than you and Allison. Don't worry. I'll get over it with time." Scott bowed his head slightly and nodded.

"I'm just worried about you, Stiles." Scott confessed. "I know I made a lot of mistakes. I know I wasn't the kind of friend you deserve, and I'm – I'm just trying to make things better, Stiles. I'm trying to be a good friend; a good Alpha."

'_Then why can't you **see** that this **isn't me**?!'_ Stiles cried out in his mind, but instead of saying that he chuckled and shook his head.

"And you're doing a great job, Scott. I can tell that you're trying real hard to get a hang of everything. For once I know that Allison and Isaac's newfound attraction for each other is bothering you more than you're letting on." Scott's eyebrows met the line of his hair.

"How did you-…"

"I'm not your best friend for nothing." Stiles drawled and Scott chuckled. His shoulders relaxed slightly and he gifted Stiles with a small, shy smile.

"Should have guessed you'd figure it out." Stiles chuckled and shrugged.

"I'm the one who knows you best, dude." Scott nodded and smiled.

"Yeah. We're practically brothers."

"We might even _become_ brothers if my dad and your mom keep hanging out." Stiles murmured and Scott grinned.

"Wouldn't it be _awesome_?" Stiles grinned right back at him.

"Dad can't stop talking about her. I heard them talking on the phone last night. Your mom's worried about your SOB dad, and my dad said that he'd take care of him if things go out of line." Scott winced and pulled back a little.

"I can't wait for him to leave." Scott murmured and Stiles raised an eyebrow at him. "We're better off without him in our lives. Mom's been smiling more than ever and – and ever since he came back she's been really tense. I can smell her fear. She tried to convince me she's fine, but I don't believe her." Stiles nodded and Scott smiled at him.

"He'll be gone pretty soon. He's here on official business. You and I both know he won't find anything. Once he figures that out he'll be out of our lives and we can focus on being matchmakers for my dad and your mom." Scott smiled at him and Stiles grinned.

"Why do I have a feeling you already have a plan brewing in your head?" Stiles snickered.

"Because you know me all too well." Scott chuckled and shook his head.

"You have no idea how happy I am to have you with me, Stiles." Scott admitted and Stiles' eyebrows met the line of his hair. "I know I hadn't been the example of a best friend or a brother, but I _swear_, Stiles; I love you like a brother, man. I wouldn't be where I am without you."

"And you'll always have me, dude." Scott smiled and straightened in his seat.

"So we're okay?" he asked hopefully. "You'd – you'd come to me if there was something wrong, right?"

"Of course!" Scott breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm telling you; I have some _problems_ handling this _darkness_, but I'm okay. I'll be better in no time, I promise."

'_Don't listen to it, Scott! That's not me!'_

Stiles' lips pulled into a grin and Scott smiled at him brightly.

"You wanna go hang out a bit? We could practice lacrosse for a while." Stiles winced and hissed.

"I'm sorry, dude, but I can't. Dad didn't say when he's gonna come home so I gotta make something for dinner. I promised to him I'd spend as much time with him as possible. He's still a bit rattled."

'_Can't you tell that it's all a lie?! Scott! Damn it, Scott, **listen**!'_

Scott nodded in understanding and stood up.

"I'll see you tomorrow at school?" Stiles stood up as well and nodded at him.

"Yeah." Scott pulled him into a hug and buried his face in Stiles' neck. A second later, he frowned.

"Stiles?"

"Yeah?"

They parted and Scott looked Stiles over.

"Stiles, why did your scent change?"

'**_Finally!_**_ Figure it out, **please**!"_

"I don't know. It could be because of the Sacrifice _or_ because I stopped taking Adderall." Scott raised an eyebrow at him.

"Why did you stop taking it?"

"I feel like I don't need it anymore." Scott's eyes glowed slightly and his lips pulled into a smile.

"You mean-…"

"We'll see." Stiles shrugged. "I still have my pills in case this is just a phase, but I'm kinda hoping it isn't. You know how much I hate those pills." Scott chuckled and nodded.

"Yeah. I know. See you tomorrow?"

"Sure." Stiles said and patted Scott's shoulder. "Would you mind seeing yourself out? Nature is calling." Scott snorted and rolled his eyes.

"Sure. See you tomorrow." He said and left.

The moment the front door closed the smile vanished from Stiles' lips and his eyes darkened. He turned towards the mirror and looked at his reflection. The Sun that was breaking through the cracks in the curtain hanging over his window danced across his face. He walked over to the mirror with his head bowed. He raised his arms and rested his hands on either side of it.

The temperature started dropping as he slowly raised his head.

'_Stop it! Whoever you are, just **stop it**!'_

Full, pouty lips pulled into an evil smirk.

Shadows rose in the room as pitch black eyes looked at the distorted image of the 17 year old young man.

'**_Just stop fighting, kid. You're mine now. You and this whole town. I've been trapped for centuries. And now I'm finally free. Just relax and enjoy the ride, Genim_****, ****_while I have my fun."_**

'_They'll stop you. You won't make it. I'll fight you every step of the way!'_

He chuckled and his eyes turned back to normal. He pushed himself away from the wall and walked into the middle of the room.

"You can fight all you want, _Genim_." He drawled and smirked. "You won't win. They won't figure it out in time. By the time they _do_ figure it out, well-..." he grinned and the shadows in the room danced around him.

"By the time they _do_ figure it out it will already be too late."

* * *

Deaton looked up sharply and frowned.

Just a moment ago a cold shiver shook his body.

There was a foul scent in the air.

Something wasn't right.

He closed the book he was reading and walked out of his bedroom and into the living room. His sister Marin looked up at him, and Deaton frowned when he saw the darkness which shone in her eyes.

"You felt it too." He stated gravely and Marin nodded.

"Do you know what it means, Alan?" she asked and he sighed.

"I only know that something _dark_ is slowly gaining strength in Beacon Hills. What we just felt was _nothing_; just an omen." Marin nodded and Alan looked out the window. The Sun was slowly setting in the West.

"Do you think it's because of the Sacrifice?" Marin asked and Alan looked at her.

"I _know_ it's because of the Sacrifice. The Nemeton's power is growing with each passing moment. We can't be sure how far its call has already reached." Marin frowned and looked at the ground.

"We need to tell Scott. They need to be ready." Alan nodded at her.

"But ready for what?" he murmured and Marin looked at him.

"For everything."

* * *

"Stiles? Wait up!" Lydia called out and ran over to Stiles. The teen turned and smiled at her before he raised an eyebrow and smirked slightly.

"Can it be? Lydia Martin is wearing _sneakers_? Is the sky falling down? Has Hell frozen over?" Lydia rolled her eyes but smiled never the less.

"I've figured that, since we're all prone to attracting more trouble than any _normal_ human being, I should at _least_ wear something that won't hinder running away." Stiles laughed and they turned towards the entrance to the school. "How are you feeling, Stiles?"

Said man sighed and shrugged.

"It's difficult." He said and threw her a sideways glance. "But I'm handling it. I'll be fine. I'm _always_ fine." Lydia raised an eyebrow and shot him a dull look.

"You know you can't lie to me, Stiles." She drawled and Stiles chuckled.

'_She'll figure it out. She's a Banshee. She'll figure you right out.'_

"I know I can't lie to you, Lyds." He looked at her and smiled lightly. "I'm _fine_. I'm just – it's _difficult_." Lydia sighed and rolled her eyes.

"You don't need to hide that you're having problems dealing with this, Stiles." She said. She stopped at the bottom of the stairs and grabbed Stiles' hand to stop him, only to freeze up slightly and have her breath hitch in her throat. She let go of his hand and took a small step back.

"Lydia? Is something wrong?" he asked and looked at her with a worried frown.

Lydia swallowed difficultly and looked at her hand; the one she grabbed Stiles with.

It was still shaking; _she_ was still shaking.

The moment she touched Stiles' bare skin, a wave of icy coldness passed over her. The moment she touched him, it felt like something _dark_ and _evil_ touched her soul.

She wanted to scream.

She looked up and her breath hitched in her throat when, for a mere _second_, Stiles' eyes turned _black_.

"Lydia?"

"I'm fine." She breathed out and shook her head. "I'm fine." She cleared her throat and looked up at Stiles. Everything was alright again. His eyes were still that strange, unique color of whiskey. They were looking at her with that familiar inquisitive look that annoyed her _so much_ a few months ago.

She swallowed and gave her best to smile for him.

'It was nothing.' She thought. 'Just my imagination.'

"Let's go. I don't want to be late for classes. The others must be inside already." He smiled and nodded.

"You know you can always talk to me, right?" he said and she nodded.

"Sure. Let's go."

"You go. I need to go to the bathroom real quick." She nodded as they entered the school.

"Hurry up." She called out and hurried down the hallway. He took a turn and entered the men's toilet.

'**_I'll have to watch out for her. She could mean trouble.'_** He thought as he washed his face. He raised his head and his eyes flashed black for a second.

'She'll figure it out! She'll tell Scott and the others, and they'll stop you!'

A dark sneer twisted Stiles' handsome features. His eyes flashed black again and pain filled screams filled his head.

It seemed like the Sun darkened and the room filled with shadows.

'**_You will keep your mouth shut, kid. You have no idea just how hard I can hurt you. You're still of too much use to me for me to kill you, but I can sure as Hell torture you. You don't want me to start killing everyone right away, do you?'_**

The screaming stopped and he smirked as the shadows dispersed. He chuckled lowly and brushed his hair back.

"That's better." He murmured as he smirked at his reflection. "_Much_ better." He straightened his clothes and turned on his heel, smirking at the weak whimpers of pain that echoed through his mind.

'Who are you? Why are you doing this?' he smirked as he walked down the empty hallway.

He could feel it.

He could feel the raw _power_ in the air.

It was growing steadily with each passing moment, and _with it_ his own powers were growing. A dark smirk covered his face as he looked up at the window at the end of the hallway. The Sun shone brightly through it, its rays dancing on the tiled floor of the hallway.

'**_I am the Shadow of this World.'_**

* * *

**_Holy water cannot help you now._****_  
_****_A thousand armies couldn't keep me out._**

* * *

'The Shadow?'

He smirked as the shadows started to rise and thicken.

'**_I am the Shadow of this world; the Plague, the Destruction, the Darkness. I am the Fire of the Dawn of Time. I am the Tide of the Judgment Day.'_**

The light vanished as the clouds gathered in the sky. He could feel the air shifting around him. He could feel the darkness growing.

'What do you _want_?'

He chuckled and felt the teen trapped in the back of the mind he shared with him shiver. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, tilting his head back.

'**_I want what I've always wanted, kid.'_**

* * *

**_I don't want your money;_****_  
_****_I don't want your crown._**

* * *

'**_I want to see the End of this World. I want to see the End of you disgusting, little mortals. I want this World, kid. I want it to collapse in my hands. I want to see it swallowed by fire and ice.'_**

He opened his eyes and smirked.

'**_It will take me some time. I was trapped for far too long. But I will grow stronger. Trust me, kid. I will grow stronger, and once I do the first thing I will do is find and kill the ones who enslaved me. And after that?'_** he chuckled and rotated his shoulders. **_'I will watch this world burn.'_**

'No! I won't let you! They'll stop you! You won't make it!'

He threw his head back and laughed.

'**_You_****_ will stop me?! You cannot even break out of the prison I've put you in, Genim! You will remain trapped within your own mind, sitting back and watching as I tear this world apart, so why don't you just shut up and enjoy the ride.'_** He turned on his heel and made his way out of the school. He walked onto the parking lot and looked at the darkening sky. He smirked and took a deep breath.

"I will have so much _fun_ destroying this pitiful world."

* * *

**_Holy water cannot help you now._****_  
_****_See I've come to burn your kingdom down._**

* * *

**To Be Continued…**


	2. Sinking

_I've always been different._

_I could always see things other people couldn't see; ever since I was a child._

_Shadows; different colors of every soul around me._

_And she was just like me; my mom._

_She could see things too._

_She said I inherited it from her._

_She said that I will always be different, but that she would always be there for me._

_And then she was gone._

_Without so much as a warning, my mom, the only person in the world that could understand me was gone._

_And I was alone._

_I was alone with the shadows; alone with this **knowledge** about the **things** living among us._

_So I did the only thing I knew._

_I suppressed it all. I ignored it until I could hardly see anything._

_Sure, it had consequences; headaches, lack of concentration, twitching, spasms. When I was 12 dad took me to a doctor and they said it was ADHD. I grasped at straws and just went along with it. Surprisingly the pills did help, but just like with all the other things in life humans get used to everything. By the time I was 16 the dosage I took was nowhere near healthy._

_But I needed them._

_I needed those pills to stop myself from seeing things I didn't want to see._

_I needed them for the constant pounding in my head to stop._

_I needed them so I could think; function like every other normal human being._

_It came to a point where it became unbearable._

_And then it happened._

_Scott got turned into a Werewolf._

_I thought that I'd finally have someone to confide in; someone who would understand._

_But each time I'd try to tell him, each time I felt that I was ready to speak up, he wasn't there._

_Allison, Allison, Allison, Allison._

_There was a moment in the past year and a half I really hated her. Scott finally became someone I could confide in completely, without fearing he would judge me for something, and because of her he was never there._

_And then there was Derek._

_When Scott and I first ran into him, I felt something incredible. I felt a connection._

_But when I looked into his eyes, all I could see was blue; steel-cold, icy blue. I could see the darkness in his heart, and I felt fear. I was afraid of him; of what that cold blue meant. And I wanted nothing to do with him. But because of Scott I couldn't turn my back on him._

_It took me a few months, but I realized that with each passing day I took less and less Adderall. With each passing day the buzzing in my head started to quiet down._

_Not even a full year after Scott became a Werewolf, I completely stopped taking the pills._

_I was gathering the courage to come out and tell him when shit hit the fan; first the Kanima, then Gerard and then the damn Alpha Pack and the Darach._

_Soon enough I found myself back in that dark void I was in when I found out I was losing my mom. I was constantly trying to figure it all out; I was trying to find a way to stop it all. I could see that something was wrong; so very, very wrong. But I hadn't used my powers in 8 years, and I suppressed them so deep that I couldn't access them completely._

_I started to think about going to Deaton; telling him everything about it all, trying to find some help. But with everything that was going on, I couldn't._

_I could feel something was wrong with Ms. Blake, but every time I'd see Derek, every time I'd see the shadows around his heart thinning and becoming clearer, I couldn't make myself tell him._

_A part of me still remembered the fact that he didn't trust me. I still remembered that I was nothing more to him than the spastic, hyperactive friend of Scott; the guy he was really interested in. But never the less I noticed that he wasn't as unapproachable as he once was. I could see that he was changing, and while I hated the fact that he was changing because of Ms. Blake, I couldn't get in the way of that._

_So I did what I do best._

_I suppressed everything I felt._

_Now I wish I didn't._

_I wish I went out and told him what I could see._

_I wish I stepped up, gathered what little courage I have and told him the truth._

_I long made peace with the fact that Scott would always have other agendas. I long made peace with the fact that even though I loved him like a brother, even though I knew he cared about me as well, Allison and Isaac would always come first._

_I buried myself in research, ducked my head down and did everything I could to find a solution before it was too late._

_But it already was._

_They were taken; first my dad, then Scott's mom and then Allison's dad._

_We were running short on time, and I didn't know what to do._

_When Deaton offered us a solution I grabbed it with both hands. I didn't want to lose my dad; I couldn't._

_When Deaton suggested Lydia to be my Anchor I felt wrong, but I said nothing. I needed to save my dad. Just as I was diving into the ice cold water I remembered the words my mom told me just before she died._

**_"Stay away from the Void, Genim. There are Creatures there that will give their all to destroy our world. Stay away from it."_**

_She was right._

_I made a mistake._

_I opened a path between worlds with Scott and Allison._

_I could feel it._

_I could see it._

_While we were standing in the Void in front of the Nemeton, I could see the darkness in it._

_But I ignored it._

_I knew that I failed my dad more times than I could count and I couldn't fail him again._

_I had to save him._

_So I did what I thought I had to do, and allowed the Nemeton to feed off of my power, just like it fed from Scott and Allison._

_I didn't even think at that moment what that darkness was._

_I never even considered the possibility that I would end up possessed by whatever the Druids sealed inside the Nemeton._

_I didn't even know what happened._

_I didn't feel it until some 6 days later._

_I wanted to talk to Scott about it all; about the fact Derek and Cora left without so much as a goodbye, about everything we did. But the moment I stepped in front of him the words got stuck in my throat. I wanted to speak but I couldn't. We talked about everything but what I felt; everything but the fear I felt growing inside my heart._

_I started getting suspicious, but every time I'd start on research something would make me freeze and I'd black out completely._

_And then it happened._

_Whatever it was it gained enough power._

_It felt as though someone ripped my insides apart, condensed them in a small ball and stored it all into the smallest corner of my mind._

_I lost it._

_All I felt was panic and fear because the only thing I could see was darkness. I could hear everything. I screamed and screamed for Scott to figure it out._

_Nothing happened._

_My last hope was Lydia, and she didn't figure it out._

_But I wouldn't give up. I wouldn't._

_I came too far to just give up._

_I'll find a way around this._

_I have to._

_Otherwise everything will be destroyed._

_Everything_

* * *

**'You've been awfully quiet, kid.'**

Reduced to nothing but an aware consciousness, Stiles twitched when the thing possessing his body spoke to him after what felt like days.

'You've successfully managed to seal me off from everything.' He answered sarcastically and the thing chuckled at him.

**'I have to say that the world changed greatly since the last time I walked free. This _town_ was nothing more than a few houses and a lot of forests.'** If he had eyes Stiles would have rolled them.

'I thought you were the _Shadow of this world_. Why are you talking with me if you're here to destroy everything? Why don't you just kill me and take my body and be done with it all?'

**'I need your body, kid. If the soul of the body dies the body will start to deteriorate. I need to gather my power to be able to take a physical form and it might take a while. Until then I'm going to use your body. You have power, kid. The moment I felt you when you entered the Void I knew you would be my ticket to the outside world. You should have listened to your mom, kiddo. She was a smart woman.'**

'What are you talking about?' Stiles asked and the entity chuckled.

**'I have access to all your memories, Genim, remember? I know everything you know and everything about you. I even know things you don't remember about yourself. I must say, if things were different I might have taken you as my apprentice. You had potential.'** Stiles snorted and the entity chuckled.

'I would never agree to be the apprentice of the monster trying to destroy the world.'

**'Think again, kiddo. You wouldn't have much choice.'** Stiles fell quiet while the thing in his body snickered at him.

'Who are you? What's your name? Why are you doing this?'

**'Might as well tell you; it's not like you'll be able to tell anyone.'** Stiles felt coldness envelop him at the sinister undertone of the entity's voice. **'I am Holler. God of Death, Destruction, Disaster and Disease, at your service.'** He spoke sarcastically and Stiles shivered. **'I don't think I need to explain why I'm here.'** He drawled.

'No. No, you don't.' Stiles answered weakly and Holler laughed.

**'So you finally understand what's going on here, do you? Those damn druids sealed me away in the Nemeton after they stopped worshiping me. I waited for centuries planning my revenge on them and this thrice damned world. Once I return to my full power I will deal with them and then-…'** he chuckled and Stiles shivered from the cold. **'Well, I don't want to spoil the surprise for you, kiddo.'**

'But _why_? What did we ever do to you?' Stiles pushed and Holler snorted.

**'What did you ever do to me? You pitiful humans created me, you gave me power, and when you got tired of the wars and death _you_ created, you discarded me and sealed me away out of fear of your own creation. You ask why; there's your answer.'** Stiles was about to say something when another voice reached his consciousness and Holler chuckled. **'I guess it's quite boring there in the back of your mind and I must say you're funnier when you're active. Consider this my gift to you; you'll be able to see and hear everything. Enjoy the ride kid.'** And while Holler's presence grew distant Stiles gasped when his eyes and ears were opened, and all of a sudden he was looking at his dad.

'Dad?!' he heard a chuckle as Holler spoke with John.

"What can I do for you, dad?" John smiled sadly and Holler took a seat in Stiles' chair while John walked around to take a seat on Stiles' bed.

"I just wanted to talk with you, son. It's been a while since everything happened and I had a lot of mess to clean up at the station. With the Feds sniffing around I hadn't had much time to talk with you. I just – I just wanted to see how you were."

'That's not me, dad! He's not me; why can't you see it?!'

Holler chuckled inside of his mind, but on the outside he shrugged and started fiddling with the right sleeve of Stiles' favorite red hoody.

"I'm fine, dad. I told you what we had to do to find you, Mrs. McCall and Mr. Argent. It's – It's a bit hard, but it's not something I can't handle." John nodded in understanding and smiled sadly.

"I'm sorry, Stiles. I'm sorry about everything. I know I should have listened. I know I should have believed you, it's just-…" he sighed and rubbed his face with his hands before he leaned forward with hunched shoulders and rested his elbows on his knees. "Ever since your mother died I've – I've tried, Stiles. I've tried to understand why she was taken from us. I don't know if you remember or if you've even known, but your mother was special. She could see things I couldn't even imagine, and when she got ill I – I simply stopped believing. It was too hard."

"Dad-…"

"Just – Just let me say this, Stiles." John begged and while Holler nodded for him to continue, Stiles waited with bated breath to hear what his dad wanted to say. He wanted to scream, he wanted to beg and plead, but the words were stuck somewhere in his throat. He and John never talked about this; they never talked about his mother and her abilities. He thought his dad didn't even know about them.

"I knew you were different. I hoped – I hoped that one day you would come to me and we'd talk about this. I made a mistake when I thought I'd give you time to come to me. I should have made you talk to me. I should have talked to you. I'm sorry; you don't know how sorry I am for everything. I promise that I'll change. Give me a chance and I'll prove to you that I can be the father you deserve." John's eyes filled with tears and Stiles choked up on all the emotions gathering in him.

'Dad! Dad, please! I can't – Please! Holler, don't hurt him, please don't hurt him! I'm begging you, he's not-…'

"You tried your best." Stiles' breath caught in his throat when Holler spoke up. "You had to deal with a hyperactive, attention impaired kid, who ended up in more trouble than he was worth. You had to work to feed us both, and I acted like an ungrateful little bastard."

"Stiles-…"

"No, dad!" the Sheriff looked at him with wide, disbelieving eyes. "I lied to you. I hid things from you. It's my fault. Everything is my fault. I should have told you when mom got sick. I should have told you that I could see things too. Instead I allowed you to worry about everything. I allowed my powers to turn into a sickness. I brought you nothing but worry and pain. It's my fault. You did your best and I didn't see that. I worked against you every chance I had because I wanted to prove to myself that I could be better than mom; that I could survive everything alone."

'What are you doing?' Stiles asked frightfully and Holler chuckled at him. 'Stop! That's not true! Stop lying to him!'

"I hid everything from you because I thought I could handle it without you. You weren't there because you had other things to worry about. I understand that. I know that I almost got you killed because I was too stupid to find the solution. It won't happen again." John frowned at him in confusion and Stiles just stared at him as Holler taunted him with everything he was telling John. He was twisting the truth, and Stiles could see the hurt and pain in John's eyes.

"Stiles, I'm sorry you thought you had to take care of everything on your own-…"

"I had to." Holler interrupted John.

'Stop! You're killing him! Can't you see that?! Stop lying to him!'

**'I'm telling the truth, _Stiles_.'** Holler drawled at him. **'I'm telling him what you should have told him years ago.'**

"You were a child, Stiles. You shouldn't have-…"

"I had power and instead of using it I suppressed it and allowed it to turn into a problem. I should have used it. Maybe everything would be better if I did. Things wouldn't have happened the way they did if I wasn't stupid. I could have stopped it all ages ago, and yet I refused. Mom would have done something. She would have stopped it all. I failed." John's eyes filled with tears as he stared at his son.

'Dad?' Stiles' voice broke and he would have cried if he could.

"I'm sorry, son. I – I just hope that one day you won't think so. I'm here for you, alright? Please, promise me that you'll talk to me. I miss your mother just as much as you do. If she were still with us everything would be different. I'm – I'm sorry I failed as your father." Holler nodded while Stiles screamed at him to stop. He begged and begged for him to just _stop_, but Holler just laughed at him.

"I failed as your son, but there's no going back." John swallowed difficultly and slowly stood up.

"Do you really think so?" he asked in a broken voice and Holler stood up.

"I do." John nodded with his head bowed and sorrow written all over his face.

"Alright." He rasped out. "Alright." He left Stiles' room, and Holler smirked the moment the door closed.

'You fucking son of a bitch!'

**'Relax, kiddo. He's going to die soon either way.'** Stiles froze up and Holler chuckled. **'The only reason why he and your friends are still alive is that I need time to gather my powers. I can't start killing people until I'm sure I will be able to defeat the druids that will surely come the moment I begin.'**

'You emotionless, disgusting, sorry son of a-…'

**'Humans made me that way, kiddo. I'm just returning the favor.'** In the next moment Holler's presence was gone and Stiles found himself surrounded in darkness again. He screamed in frustration as pain and anger gathered in his heart.

He needed to figure it out.

He needed to figure out how to stop Holler.

The problem was that he had no way to contact anyone and tell them what was going on.

He cursed and tried to slam against the walls of darkness around him.

He failed.

He failed everyone again.

He needed to find a way out.

Otherwise, everything will be destroyed.

* * *

"Stiles?! Stiles, wait up!"

**'Here comes your Alpha, kid!'** Holler mocked him as Stiles' eyes and ears opened and he gazed at Scott through his eyes. Even though he could see him it felt as though there was a veil between him and Scott; like he was observing him from behind a thick glass.

"What's the matter, boss-man?" Holler asked and Scott rolled his eyes.

"I see you're feeling better." Scott drawled and Holler chuckled.

"I was feeling a little under it for a few days, but I'm fine now. Anything new happen?" Scott fell into step with Holler and they made their way to the school. Stiles was quiet as he observed Scott, trying to think of a way to give him a sign something was wrong.

**'Give up, kid. I'm already strong enough to mask my scent. Your little Werewolf friends won't figure anything out. And before you start hoping, I found a way around your Banshee's powers.'** Stiles cursed and Holler chuckled before he focused on Scott again.

"You weren't in school for three days, dude. Nothing can happen in three days." Holler laughed while Stiles choked up.

'Three days?! You skipped school for three fucking days?!' Holler just snorted at him.

"I had to take care of a few things. I went back to the Nemeton to check it out and make sure we left nothing incriminating behind." Scott stopped in his tracks and Holler stopped a few steps in front of him. He turned around to look at Scott and Stiles could see the worry and hurt on his face.

"You went alone? Stiles, what if something happened? Why didn't you call me to come with you?"

"Because I didn't need you to come with me." Scott's eyes opened wide in a hurt puppy dog look and Holler just raised an eyebrow at him, while Stiles gapped. "I've done a hundred things without you in the past while you were with Allison doing things I won't name. I didn't need you to tag along for a simple check up." Scott frowned in hurt confusion.

"Stiles, I know I wasn't the best of friends, but I – I thought we were okay. I promised I'd-…"

"I know. And I'm telling you I didn't need you to go with me. My jeep was fixed and I decided to go and check it out alone. You're forgetting that I learned to take care of myself."

"I know, but that doesn't mean you should do things alone! Before we had Derek to jump in when I wasn't there, but if you don't tell me that you're going to do something I won't know to jump in if you end up in trouble. At least let me send someone with you if you don't want me to come." Holler rolled his eyes and Scott frowned.

"I'm fine, wolf-boy. Chill. Let's go; we're gonna be late for class."

"Stiles!" the Werewolf ran after Holler, but he was already in the school.

'Why are you doing this? First my dad and now Scott; what are you aiming for?' Stiles asked and Holler snorted ignoring Scott's calls.

**'I may have twisted the truth a bit with your dad, but Scott? I don't need to twist anything with him. I keep wondering why you're still friends with everyone. Either they hurt you or they tried to kill you, and yet you still feel friendship for them.'**

'That's why it's called friendship. Sure, Scott acted like a bastard when he was with Allison, but he's my friend.' Holler snorted. 'But that doesn't matter. Why are you doing this? I thought your plan was to kill us all.'

**'My plan is to kill you all. But I need to bid time until I gather my full power, and I need to have some fun. Nothing is more amusing than the truth, don't you think? One speck of complete and honest truth and people start doubting everything they ever did.'** Stiles frowned in thought and Holler chuckled at him. They entered the classroom and took Stiles' usual seat. Before Holler could say something to Stiles Scott walked in closely followed by Lydia. Holler smiled at them and waved, and the two frowned at him.

'Scott told her everything. With what happened last time with Lydia, she's bound to figure things out. She's not stupid.' Stiles warned Holler, but the god of destruction just chuckled.

**'She has no idea about her powers, and even if she did, she is nowhere near my level. Besides, even if they _do_ figure things out, it would just forward my plans a bit. Like I said, I'm only bidding my time here. Soon enough I'll be back to my full power. Even if I'll have to kill someone sooner than planned, I'll have my own body in time. So don't you worry your pretty little head, Genim. Sit back and enjoy the ride while you can. It won't be long until you'll meet your dear mom again.'** Stiles shivered at the cold maliciousness he felt coming from Holler.

Before Lydia and Scott managed to talk to him, the teacher entered the classroom. Holler and Stiles noticed the looks both sent to him, and Holler chuckled.

**'How much do you want to bet that they won't go and pay a visit to that Emissary?'** Stiles frowned. He knew Holler was right. Scott would never go to Deaton just because 'Stiles' was acting strange. Lydia might think of it, but if Holler manages to deceive her she'll write off what happened last time as a fluke. She won't do anything. Holler smirked and sighed mockingly.

**'If only Derek was here. _He_ would know something was wrong.'**

'What?' Stiles thought breathlessly and Holler chuckled at him darkly.

**'Don't tell me you didn't think of him? And here I thought you trusted him; I thought you were _falling for him_.'** Stiles' thoughts came to a sharp stop as Holler laughed at him. **'What? Is that another thing you've suppressed; another thing you didn't allow yourself to feel? Tsk, tsk, tsk. You're really something, Genim. You know that what I said to your dad was true, right? If you didn't suppress your powers, if you didn't ignore then, now you would be strong enough to throw me out. You would have been strong enough to stop me from possessing you. When I think about it, this is entirely your fault.'** Stiles couldn't think. Holler's words were rolling around in his mind constantly; taunting him, mocking him.

'My fault?' he thought brokenly and Holler laughed.

**'Take some time to think about it, kiddo. You don't have much of it left.'** Stiles felt heavy, haunting silence settle around him as Holler's words echoed through the darkness.

_Your fault_.

_Entirely your fault._

If he could have he would have covered his ears with his hands.

If he could have he would have screamed for it all to stop.

But he couldn't.

He couldn't.

* * *

**_And now all your love will be exorcised. _**  
**_And we will find your saints to be canonized. _**  
**_And it's an even sum; it's a melody. _**  
**_It's a battle cry; it's a symphony._**

* * *

'My fault.' He thought brokenly as laughter echoed around him.

The world will be destroyed and it could have been stopped if only he were braver.

'My fault!' he cried as pieces of his mind were torn.

Everything will be destroyed.

Everything.

Because of him.

* * *

**_They can keep me alive 'til I tear the walls; _**  
**_'til I salve your heart and they take your soul._**

* * *

He was a coward and the whole world would pay for his mistakes.

And there was nothing he could do, because it was too late.

**'You should have been braver, Genim. You should have listened to your mother. You should have been stronger and just came out with it all. And now it's too late, because as I grow stronger _you_ grow weaker with every passing moment. Your friends can't save you. You can't save yourself. It's too late.'**

* * *

**_And what have you done? _**  
**_Can it be undone _**  
**_in the evil's heart; _**  
**_in the evil's soul?_**

* * *

**'You're mine, Genim. You're mine.'**

And with a whimper of pain and sorrow, Stiles was swallowed by darkness.

* * *

**_Seven devils all around me. _**  
**_Seven devils in my house. _**  
**_See I was dead when I woke up this morning, _**  
**_and I'll be dead before the day is done._**

* * *

"Scott, what's going on?" Allison asked and Scott sighed before he looked at the members of his Pack. Everyone was there but Stiles. He needed to talk with everyone about his best friend.

"Yeah, you sounded like you were worried." Isaac said and Scott looked at him. He was sitting beside Allison on the couch in Scott's living room. Lydia was sitting with Aiden in one armchair while Danny and Ethan took the other.

"I need to talk to you about Stiles." He said and everyone frowned. "But you'll have to wait for a few moments. I sent mom to pick up Sheriff Stilinski. This concerns him too."

"Can't you at least tell us something before they come?" Allison pushed and Scott bowed his head a little.

"You mean besides the fact that he's been acting strange?" Danny spoke up and everyone looked at him. "What? He was gone for three days and today he managed to avoid talking to any of us with the skill of a master of avoidance. I tried to catch him in the hallway to ask if he was coming for practice today and I lost him in the crowd. And he isn't exactly easy to lose."

"Do you really think something's wrong with him?" Allison asked worriedly. Scott sighed and brushed his fingers through his hair.

"We'll wait for my mom and the sheriff." He said. A moment later the wolves heard a car park in front of the house.

"We won't have to wait for long." Ethan murmured. They heard the door open and seconds later John and Mellissa walked into the room.

"We got here as soon as we could." Mellissa said and John nodded. The Sheriff looked out of himself with worry, and the Werewolves could smell it rolling off of him in waves.

"What's going on?" he asked as he and Mellissa took seats in the chairs Scott brought earlier from the kitchen. Scott took a seat in the last free chair and took a deep breath.

"I already told everyone that we're here to talk about Stiles; that's why I asked you not to tell him where you were going, sheriff."

"It's John." He corrected Scott and everyone nodded. "If we're going to work together from now on, I think we should be on the first name basis. I don't want to be called sheriff all the time."

"I agree." Mellissa said and looked at her son. "Now tell us what's wrong with Stiles."

"He's been acting strange for a few days now. I noticed that he started spacing out on me and I went to talk to him. He assured me that he was fine and that he just had problems coping with what we had to do to save you." John and Mellissa nodded and Scott continued. "I noticed that he smelled different but he said that it could be because of what we did and because he stopped taking Adderall."

"I noticed that too." John said. "But he hasn't been taking it for several months now." Scott frowned and shared a look with the others.

"There's more." Lydia spoke up. "Last time I spoke with him I touched his skin. I didn't think anything of it because I'm only starting to learn about my powers, but when I touched him I felt something I can't describe and I-…" she swallowed difficultly and everyone saw fear fill her eyes.

"Lydia?" Aiden took her hand in his and squeezed it encouragingly.

"It felt evil." She spoke brokenly. "And after I let go of him, when I looked at him he – he looked _different_. His skin was pale and his eyes – his eyes were completely black. There were no whites. They were completely black." Heavy silence settled among them as they digested the information given to them by Scott and Lydia.

"Is there more?" John rasped out and Scott nodded.

"I don't know if you know that Stiles hadn't come to school for three days."

"What?" John breathed out in shock and the teens nodded.

"I managed to catch up to him today and he said that he wasn't feeling all that well and that he went to check up on the Nemeton to see if there was anything we missed there. When I asked him why he didn't tell anyone, he said that he was perfectly fine on his own; that he didn't need me to go with him. He didn't need anyone to go with him."

"I – I talked to him last night." John said and swallowed difficultly. "I thought there was something strange about him, but I just – I just thought he was still angry with me."

"What did he tell you?" Mellissa asked worriedly. John rubbed his face with his hands, leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees.

"He said that all of this was entirely his fault. That all this time he was an ungrateful little brat. He said that he lied and hid things from me; that just like his mother he could see things."

"See things?" Danny interrupted him and John nodded.

"Claudia had a gift. She could see things no one else could. I never understood what it was she saw because she rarely talked about it, but I knew she was different. What I didn't know was that Stiles was different as well. I didn't know he was just like her."

"No one knew that." Scott said and John looked at him. He saw the hurtful frown on Scott's face and sighed.

"I remember Claudia saying while we were dating that it was a gift that could be suppressed with enough determination. We all know how determined Stiles can get. I never even thought that his ADHD could be a consequence of him suppressing his powers."

"What else did he tell you?" Mellissa asked.

"That he wanted to prove to himself that he was better than Claudia and that he could survive everything on his own. He lied to me because I had other things to worry about and that I was almost killed because he couldn't find a solution quickly enough. He said that Claudia would have made it; that it was entirely his fault. He said that he – he failed me as a son but that there's no going back."

"Lies!" everyone looked at Scott at his wavering exclamation. "Those are all lies!"

"Scott-…"

"I don't know anything about these powers, but I know for sure that the reason Stiles didn't tell you the truth was because he was trying to protect you. He didn't want you to get involved because he knew that you would be pulled in, and that you could get hurt or killed. He didn't want to tell you the truth about us, because he knew you were already in enough danger as a sheriff. He never talked about his mom, but I know for sure that he never blamed you for anything."

"How do you know all that?" Ethan asked.

"I know because he told me so." Scott stressed out. "I know because I tried to make him tell you everything and he said that he would never put you in so much danger. That it was enough that he knew. He told me several times that humans had nothing to do with Werewolves if they weren't trained Hunters. He didn't tell you to protect you." John swallowed difficultly and bowed his head.

"But why did he lie to me then? Why didn't he just say so?"

"I believe that's why we're all here, isn't it?" Isaac spoke up and looked at Scott. "We're here to figure out what's wrong with Stiles." Scott nodded and crossed his arms over his chest.

"But where do we start?" Mellissa asked.

"I think it's safe to say that we should start with the Ritual." Allison suggested and everyone looked at her. "Scott and I can both feel the effects of it. We're more aware of our surroundings and we both feel our fears and worries stronger, but that's all. We don't know how it affected Stiles."

"Does anyone know _exactly_ what happened to him during and after the Ritual?" John asked, and Scott, Isaac, Lydia and Allison exchanged thoughtful looks.

"If I remember correctly, after we finished the Ritual Isaac, Allison and I went to get something with her father's scent while Stiles left to find something of yours." Scott said and nodded at John. "We were supposed to meet up in the forest-…"

"But Stiles didn't show up." Allison jumped in and Isaac nodded.

"There are at least two hours when he was unaccounted for." He added and everyone frowned.

"He came in time to save our lives." Mellissa said.

"Yeah. He seemed perfectly normal to me." John said. "Well, despite the situation. He was still Stiles."

"What happened after everything was done?" Ethan asked. "What happened the day after; after Derek and Cora left, after Blake was killed? What happened then?"

"Nothing." Scott said and John nodded.

"I was forced to go to the station. I didn't – didn't have the time to talk to him until yesterday because the Feds were keeping me in the station all day long. I had my usual shifts and then I had to be with them. Covering up for all of you took a while. I had to ask Chris to leave for a few weeks." Allison nodded in confirmation. Her dad was supposed to come back in a few days. They had to come up with a false business trip because of the Feds. John took a deep breath and closed his eyes as he covered his face with his hands.

"I saw nothing strange with him because I didn't spend enough time with him." He spoke brokenly. "I wasn't home when he needed me and I-…"

"John, it's not your fault." Mellissa said and took a firm hold of his shoulder. "He was at school every day and I saw him several times and no one saw anything strange up until a few days ago. It could be that there was nothing wrong with him before. It could be that something happened five days ago."

"It could also be that something was wrong from the very start." Lydia suggested. "It only started to show now."

"So what do we do?" Allison asked. "Do we talk to him?"

"If we do and it turns out that he knows exactly what's wrong we could have two situations on our hands." Danny answered. "Either he'll ask for help or, if he's possessed for example, he's going to fight us."

"Possessed?" Isaac wrinkled his nose. "There's no such thing as possession."

"There's no such thing as Werewolves either." Danny countered and Isaac pursed his lips and nodded.

"Touché." He murmured and Danny shrugged before he looked at Scott.

"I think the best move would be to talk to someone who would know more about all of this; someone who's been dealing with the supernatural for longer than any of us has." Danny suggested.

"We could talk to Deaton." Allison said.

"I'd say he's the one with the most experience." Ethan agreed.

"And he'd be more than willing to help." Isaac said and looked at Scott. "After all, he's our Emissary." Scott nodded and looked at everyone; his Pack. The only one missing was Stiles.

"You all go home." He said. "I'll go and talk to Deaton and tell you what he thinks about all of this."

"I hope he has a solution." John muttered. "Stiles suffered enough. If he's really possessed, I don't know what-…"

"We'll help him." Mellissa said and smiled at John lovingly. "He saved all of us one way or another. This time we'll save him."

"And kick the ass of whoever hurt him in the first place." Isaac added with a grin and John smiled at them all.

"Thank you. All of you."

* * *

Scott took a deep breath as he got out of his car and looked at the Animal Clinic. Night was slowly falling and the sickle moon was already high in the sky. He closed the door and locked the car, and then made his way in. The lights were on which meant Deaton was still there. He entered without hesitation and almost immediately Deaton walked out of the back room.

"Scott? I didn't expect for you to come today." Scott gifted his mentor with a small smile and Deaton frowned in worry. "What's wrong?" he asked and Scott sighed.

"We have a problem." Deaton's frown deepened and he showed Scott to follow him.

"Come. We can talk in the back." Deaton led Scott to his office and quickly made some tea for the both of them. Once they were seated at his table Scott took a deep breath and raised his head to look at Deaton.

"Something is wrong with Stiles." He jumped straight to the point. Something flashed in Deaton's eyes and Scott continued with his report. "He's been acting strange."

"How strange?" Deaton asked.

"He outright lied to the Sheriff about why he hid everything from him. He went to check out the Nemeton alone, and when I asked him why he didn't ask me to come with him, he said he didn't need anyone; that he could take care of himself. And his scent changed as well. And-…" Scott hesitated and Deaton leaned forward a bit, resting his elbows on the table and entwining his fingers on it.

"And?"

"Lydia said something strange as well. She said that when she touched him she felt something dark, and that when she looked at him he looked different. She said he had completely black eyes and that he was pale." In that moment Deaton paled and Scott heard his heart skip a beat. "Deaton?"

"It's impossible." Deaton murmured and leaned back into his chair. "That's not-…"

"What? What happened?" Deaton looked at Scott and the young Alpha frowned in worry when he saw how strict and almost _angry_ Deaton looked.

"Scott, I need you to tell me; is Lydia absolutely sure that she saw right?"

"Yes. We can call her and she can come here if you want."

"No." Deaton stood up quickly and Scott followed suit. "I believe you." He murmured as he walked out of the office, closely followed by Scott.

"What's going on?" he asked as he followed Deaton further into the back. They climbed up the stairs into Deaton's loft and Scott followed him into the study. Deaton walked right over to the massive bookshelf that covered one of the walls and searched for a specific book.

"I never thought this would happen; not in my lifetime. It should be impossible. It's unheard off." Deaton mumbled into his chin as he searched for the book while Scott stood in the back.

"Deaton, what's going on? I don't understand anything." Deaton finally found what he was looking for and looked at Scott.

"This is more dangerous than you might think, Scott." He said as he walked over to his desk and started to flip the pages of the book quickly. Scott walked over to him and leaned over the table to look at the quickly turning pages.

"What is it?"

"If what you told me is true, Stiles is possessed." Scott's eyes widened and his heart skipped a beat.

"I was afraid of that. But how did it happen?"

"It wasn't supposed to happen; it _shouldn't_ have happened unless Stiles was hiding something from all of us." Scott frowned and Deaton stopped flipping the pages of the book to look at him when he felt the atmosphere shift. "Scott?"

"John mentioned something today." Scott murmured. "He mentioned that both Stiles and his mother were special. That they could see things no one else could see. He said that he didn't know Stiles had his mother's power too; that he must have suppressed it."

"This isn't good, Scott." Deaton murmured. "This isn't good at all." He went back to the book while Scott stared at him in wonder.

"What?"

"If what you're saying is true, Stiles isn't just a human with a strong Spark. He's more; he's much more." Scott frowned at Deaton's words.

"What is he?" he asked. Deaton stopped flipping the book and sighed heavily.

"I feared this." He murmured.

"Deaton?" Scott pushed and Deaton took a seat heavily.

"There aren't only Werewolves, Druids, Darach and Kanima in this world Scott. There are so many different creatures and beings that your mind would spin if I started naming them all. But this I will tell you. Only _one_ creature is capable of being the Vessel of another entity; especially if this entity is what I think it is."

"I think I should call everyone here for this." Scott muttered. "They need to know." Deaton nodded and Scott took his phone out of his pocket. While the young Alpha called everyone Deaton looked at the book on the table. Its open pages showed a mighty beast once considered a god of the old world. He traced the hand written passages under the painting and frowned in worry.

'This might be more than we ever bargained for.' He thought. 'This just might be more than we can handle.'

* * *

"What's going?" Lydia asked as she and Aiden walked into Deaton's living room. Everyone else was there already, including John and Mellissa.

"Deaton thinks he knows what's wrong with Stiles." Scott answered and Lydia looked at Deaton.

"Take a seat. This will be quite shocking." Deaton warned and the two newcomers quickly found seats.

"What's wrong with my son?" John asked and Mellissa took his hand in hears in quiet support. Deaton sighed and took the open book off of the tea table and handed it to John.

"Your son's indeed possessed." Deaton said and everyone tensed up. "I'm sorry. If I had known what he is I would have never allowed him to be the sacrifice; I would have stopped him and found another way."

"What is this? I don't understand that language." John said and handed the book to Deaton.

"This was written by one of my forefathers a long time ago. It speaks of a mighty creature that was once considered a god of the old world; a god of death and destruction. He was named Holler, and he was worshiped by many, because he brought victory to those who prayed to him and destruction and death to those who didn't. He was a mighty god. My ancestors sealed him away in the Void a long time ago, because when people stopped praying to him he made a vow; if people didn't continue to pray to him he would bring destruction upon Earth such as no one has ever seen."

"And let me guess; he was sealed in the Nemeton." Ethan drawled and Deaton nodded.

"I'm afraid it is so. They sealed him there because they believe no one would be powerful enough to be his Vessel. He was greatly weakened at the moment he was sealed and he wouldn't be able to survive without a Vessel in this world. He needs one to reside in until he gathers enough strength to create his own form."

"Okay, but what does Stiles have with all of this? You just said that your ancestors believe there would be no one strong enough to be the Vessel of this Holler." Lydia sad and Deaton sighed.

"That's because they though the creatures that could serve a Vessels were long extinct." He explained. "The only creatures in the world that could be Vessels to another entity were called Lestr. No one knows who they descended from. Everything that's known about them is that they were people who could see behind the facade of flesh and bone and into the soul. They were powerful people; more powerful than any Druid or Darach could ever hope to be. That made them very valuable and also endangered. More often than not they were offered as sacrifices to the gods of old; they were sacrificed to them to be their Vessels while they walked this world."

"So Stiles is – he's a Lestr?" John asked weakly and Deaton nodded.

"I am afraid that he is. By what Scott told me about what Lydia saw when she touched him, I know that he is possessed. The Lestr were very careful about what they did; most of the time they hid their powers from the world because they feared that they would be offered as sacrifices. Never the less, they were extinct. Or so we thought."

"I guess they found a way to hide themselves." Danny commented and Deaton sighed.

"But that doesn't matter right now. We have a very big problem on our hands. Stiles sacrificed his life for you, John. He entered the Void willingly. Holler must have attached himself to him and possessed him. If it is indeed so, then we might already be too late."

"Too late for what?" John's voice broke and Deaton looked at him with a sad expression.

"It may be too late to save Stiles."

"What?!" everyone jumped on their feet and incredulous shouts filled the room, and Deaton raised his hands to silence them.

"How do you mean it might be too late?!" John cried out.

"Holler has been inside Stiles for weeks. He has been feeding on his life energy and the evil of this world from the moment he possessed him. If we were to take him out of Stiles it might kill him." John fell back into his armchair with a desperate look on his face.

"My boy." He whispered brokenly as he leaned forward, rested his elbows on his knees and hid his face in his hands. "I failed him. I failed to protect him."

"John, this isn't your fault." Mellissa murmured although she had tears running down her cheeks.

"There has to be a way to save him." Lydia spoke up. Her eyes were wide with fear as she looked at Deaton. "There has to be a way!"

"If there is one I don't know what it could be." Deaton spoke mournfully. "I'm sorry."

"No." Scott spoke up firmly and everyone looked at him. "There has to be a way. If there isn't, we'll think of something. Stiles is Pack. We are a Pack; and no one is left behind." John looked at Scott with tears streaming down his cheeks.

"What do you have in mind?" he asked.

"For now we do nothing; we act normal." Scott looked at Deaton. "You said that he's the god of death and destruction. By what you've told us he's bent on vengeance. We act normal. We say nothing. If we do, he might turn on Stiles sooner. For as long as he's unaware of what's going on we have time to figure out how to get him out of Stiles without killing him." Scott swallowed difficultly and nodded. "That's what Stiles would do; that's what he would want." Everyone exchanged glances while John stood up on shaky legs and walked over to Scott. John looked in Scott's eyes and the young Alpha felt incredible weight settle on his heart.

"You find a way, you hear me?" John rasped out. "By what little I heard you all put Stiles through a lot. You find a way to save him."

"We will." Scott said and the others nodded. "We will." In that moment Deaton tensed up.

"What is it?" Lydia asked and everyone looked at the Druid.

"Someone just entered." He said. "Stay here. If it's Stiles I don't want him to find out you're all here." He quickly got out of the room.

"I'll follow him. If there's any chance that the monster inside him can scent people out, he won't be worried about me being here." Isaac offered and Scott nodded at him.

"Go."

Isaac hurried after Deaton and Scott looked at John.

"We'll find a way to save Stiles." He said. "I promise."

"I know." John murmured. "Thank you."

Everyone jumped in their placed when Isaac ran back into the room breathless and wide eyed.

"What is it?" Allison asked.

"It's Derek." Isaac breathed out. "Derek's back!"

* * *

"Well, well, well; never thought I'd find _you_ here." Peter turned quickly on his heel and frowned when he saw a shadowed figure leaning on a tall tree. He frowned only to tense up in shock when he saw who it was that managed to sneak up on him.

"Stiles?" he sneered and the teen chuckled. He pushed himself away from the tree-trunk and walked into the weak light of the sickle moon. Peter sniffed the air and a shiver ran down his spine. "You're not Stiles." He growled and the teen snickered. With a pulse of power his skin paled and his eyes bled into black.

_"You're a smart one."_ The voice that came from the teen's mouth was distorted and deep. Peter swallowed over a lump of fear that suddenly appeared in his throat and took a step back.

"Who are you?" he asked and whatever was possessing the body of the teenager chuckled mockingly.

_"Wouldn't you like to know?"_ he drawled and Peter almost fell on his knees when huge pressure settled over him. Those black eyes gazed at him filled with maliciousness, and something was telling Peter he wouldn't walk out of there.

Something was telling him that he met his mach.

* * *

**_Holy water cannot help you now. _**  
**_A thousand armies couldn't keep me out._**

* * *

Peter fell on his knees as the pressure became unbearable and he started to choke on air. The creature crouched in front of him with an evil smirk on the charming features of the young teen, and a promise of pain in its eyes.

_"You're interesting, Peter Hale. You are **quite** interesting."_ Peter tried to swallow and it felt like acid flowed down his throat. The scent of blood, death and decay filled his nose and he felt like lead was filling his stomach. Even if he wanted to say something he couldn't because it felt like something sealed his mouth shut. His skin felt like a thousand needles were prickling it, and his eyes were watering from pain.

_"I am Holler, God of Death and Destruction; of Disaster and Disease. I am the Shadow of the World, and the Judgment of the Final Day."_ Peter's eyes widened when Holler raised his hand and with gentle fingers caressed Peter's cheek. It felt like his skin was touched with both ice and fire at the same time and a surge of power shook his body, leaving him breathless. Holler chuckled mockingly and leaned closer. His breath fanned over Peter's face carrying with it the taste of blood, and Peter's mouth watered.

_"What is **this**?"_ Holler murmured almost lovingly. _"Power attracts you. Power entices you."_ He leaned even closer and leveled his lips with Peter's ear. _"It **arrrouses **you."_ Peter's breath hitched in his throat and his eyes rolled back into his head, and Holler chuckled lowly.

_"I still need time to reach my full power. You might prove to be more **fun** than the boy I'm possessing. His rants and screams are music to my ears, but **you**, dear Peter; you might be useful."_ Holler moved back and looked in Peter's eyes with a smirk on his handsome face. _"What do you think? Would you like to be mine?"_ Peter swallowed difficultly as his eyes darted all over the handsome face in front of him. _"And don't try to lie to me. I can see straight through you. I can see that you've desired this boy from the first time you've seen him. You could have him, you know? Be mine, and you can have him."_ Peter took in a deep gasping breath when the pressure decreased.

"Why?" he rasped out. "Why would you want me?" Holler chuckled and tilted his head to the side.

_"You killed the Darach that activated the Nemeton. You are connected to it just as much as I am; just as much as this boy is. Through you, I could gather my strength faster. Through you, **with** you I could draw on the power of the Nemeton faster. You would benefit from it too, you know? You would return to your power faster, **and** you would get the boy you so desire. What say you?"_ Peter swallowed difficultly as he gazed into the endless abyss that were the eyes gazing back at him.

"How do I know you won't just use me and kill me? How do I know I can trust you?" he asked. Holler chuckled and straightened. The pressure disappeared completely as he walked beside Peter and towards the Nemeton. Peter stood up and turned around in time to see the red hoody meet the ground, and the glorious muscled torso of the young teen was revealed to Peter's hungry eyes. Holler turned to face him and raised his hands slowly, and Peter raised an eyebrow when his nails turned to deadly claws. Holler raised one hand to his chest and cut a cross right over his heart.

_"I give you my word as a **god**."_ Holler drawled and Peter smirked. He took a step towards him and Holler leered at him. When Peter stopped in front of him Holler raised one clawed hand and dragged it down Peter's front cutting his shirt in half.

Peter grabbed his wrist when his hand reached the waistband of his trousers and chuckled. Holler looked deep into his eyes and Peter nodded.

"I'm yours." He pressed out through sharpening teeth and Holler snickered. He moved backwards away from Peter and took a seat on the Nemeton.

_"Come."_

* * *

**_And what have you done? _**  
**_Can it be undone _**  
**_in the evil's heart; _**  
**_in the evil's soul?_**

* * *

Peter growled and jumped forward. He grabbed the teen's neck as Holler chuckled, and pushed the supple body to the middle of the Nemeton. As he leaned above him the moon shone down upon them adopting a red, threatening tinge.

Sometime later, after a victorious howl echoed through the night, a wave of incredible power spread over Beacon Hills and out into the world.

And unbeknownst to anyone, it awakened something that would mean a great turnabout.

* * *

**_Seven devils all around you. _**  
**_Seven devils in your house. _**  
**_See they were there when I woke up this morning; _**  
**_and I'll be dead before the day is done._**

* * *

**To Be Continued…**

* * *

**Hope you liked it!**

**Please leave a review.**

**I won't waste time writing something no one's interested in, okay?**

**I have other projects in mind.**

**All my love,**

**Ms. Yuki**


	3. Nemesis

A snort filled with hatred and despise echoed through the silence of the forest. A distorted face of an old man reflected in the lake, and the moon shone down on him, its light swallowed by darkness radiating from him.

"_I guess they don't make them like they used to."_ His voice was distorted and his eyes were like an abyss. He stood up and looked at the sky. An ugly smirk covered his face as he looked down at his hands. He flexed his fingers and rotated his shoulders.

"_You'll do just nicely for now. As he grows stronger so will I, and this time nothing will stop me from killing him and the Vessel he is possessing."_ He pressed out through his teeth as he squeezed the hands of his Vessel tightly. He grinned darkly before he threw his head back and roared into the night. His mighty war cry spread to the four winds, and his power burst from his body and spread over the world like a warning; a warning for one single Creature.

"_I'm coming for you, Holler. You just wait. This time, you will meet your end!"_

* * *

"Derek!" the moment Deaton brought the Werewolf into the living room Scott jumped on his feet and ran to hug him. Derek stood confused for a moment until a small smile tugged on his lips and he hugged Scott back.

"I didn't think you'd welcome me back like this." He said and Scott chuckled before he pulled back. He placed his hands on Derek's shoulders and checked him over with a small smile on his face.

"You have no idea how good it is to see you, Derek." He said and took a look behind Derek. "Where's Cora?" Derek smiled as Scott took a step back.

"She decided to stay with the Pack that took her in 6 years ago. She said she had nothing but me to keep her in Beacon Hills; a lot of bad memories, she said." He shrugged and pushed his hands in his pockets. "I stayed to make sure she would be fine and then decided to come back."

"Not as many bad memories?" Scott asked and Derek chuckled.

"More friends." Derek answered shortly and Scott let go of the breath he was unconsciously holding.

"Welcome back." He said and Derek nodded before he looked at the others. Not a moment later a frown covered his face.

"I don't mean to sound rude, but since when are Sheriff Stilinski and Mrs. McCall part of your Pack? And where is Stiles?" heavy silence settled over the room at Derek's question, and a sense of unease passed down Derek's back when everyone's eyes filled with shadows. "Scott?" Derek looked at the young Alpha, and Scott bowed his head with his hands fisted by his sides. "Scott, what happened? Where is Stiles?"

"Maybe you should take a seat." Deaton suggested. "It's quite a story." Derek swallowed difficultly but nodded, and he and Scott took seats. Derek looked at Deaton and nodded at him.

"Tell me everything."

* * *

Derek's eyes were wide and he was pale as he stared at everyone.

"Stiles – he's possessed?" he rasped out and John nodded at him.

"We decided to act as though nothing's wrong to buy ourselves time to figure out how to get Holler out of him without killing Stiles in the process." Derek swallowed difficultly and bowed his head. He looked at his hands, fisted on his knees. "For the moment we have no other option."

"How come you didn't see it sooner?" he asked and looked at Scott. "His scent must have changed; he must have known something was wrong. Didn't he say anything?"

"I don't know." Scott said and bowed his head. "We don't know how Holler managed to stay hidden inside Stiles. I noticed his scent changed, but I thought it was because of what we did. I never even thought – I didn't know he was a Lestr."

"No one knew that, Scott." Allison said and Isaac nodded.

"We all smelled the change in his scent and thought nothing of it. We're all at fault here." He said and Scott tried to smile at them gratefully, but failed.

"There's no sense in blaming anyone." Mellissa spoke up. "We need to find a way to save Stiles; that's the only thing we should be worrying about now."

"I agree." Danny spoke up and looked at Deaton. "You have a lot of books. I'll help you look."

"Me too." the Emissary looked at Lydia. "Three heads think better than two."

"We'll all help." Aiden spoke up.

"We're Pack. No one is left behind." Isaac said and Scott nodded before he looked at Derek who was observing them quietly. Scott felt something in him warm up when he saw longing cleverly hidden behind worry.

"Are you here to stay, Derek?" Scott asked and the older Werewolf looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"I wouldn't have returned if I didn't intend to stay." He said and Scott smiled.

"Welcome to the Pack then." Derek's eyebrows touched the line of his hair.

"I didn't think-…"

"We're Pack." Scott said and shrugged. "You're Pack." Derek snorted and shook his head with a small fond smile. Scott's smile grew a bit while the others exchanged pleased glances. They could see a change in the oldest Werewolf among them. Derek's shoulders weren't hunched under a mountain of guilt anymore. His eyes were warmer and softer, and his expressions were more open. Whatever happened to him during his absence obviously did him good.

And if Scott wanted him in his Pack, then no one could find anything to say against it.

"So?" Derek stood up and looked at Scott as he crossed his massive arms over his strong chest. "What's the plan?" Scott sighed and straightened as he looked at everyone.

"Our best course of action right now would be to split in groups. We can't leave Stiles alone. Someone has to be with him all the time; keep an eye on Holler. Others will come here every day when they have free time and help Deaton search for a way to save Stiles."

"I'm pleasantly surprised, Scott; didn't take you for a strategist." Danny said and Scott smiled a sad smile.

"I'm just trying to think how Stiles would if someone else was in his place." He admitted and everyone saddened. John swallowed difficultly and bowed his head. Mellissa sighed sadly and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"I know this won't help you, sir, but I wouldn't worry so much if I were you." Everyone looked at Derek in shock.

"What?" John breathed out weakly and Derek snorted.

"Knowing Stiles, he's not sitting idly wherever he is. He's counting on us to figure things out and I'm sure that he's planning something as well. He won't go down without a fight. He'll do everything in his power to buy us enough time to find a way to save him." A small smile pulled on John's lips and he nodded.

"Yeah." he rasped out. "That does sound like Stiles. He won't allow Holler to win. He's too stubborn for that."

"You can bet on it." Aiden murmured and everyone laughed.

"One more thing." everyone looked at Derek when he spoke up again. "Has anyone seen my Uncle?" everyone tensed up at his question and Derek frowned in worry.

"We haven't seen him in weeks; ever since you and Cora left." Lydia said and Derek's frowned deepened.

"Why do you ask?"

"I don't like things unaccounted for." Derek murmured and Ethan raised an eyebrow at him. Derek looked at him with a dark frown on his face. "I never trusted him. My Uncle has always been – well, I don't think I have to explain myself when I say that he was _different_. He always wanted power. I'm not too happy not knowing where he is and what he's doing." Scott nodded in understanding, the frown on his face almost matching Derek's.

"I agree with you on that." He muttered.

"Don't go looking for him now." Allison spoke up. "We have more dire things to worry about. We'll take care of Peter when he shows up."

"I'm afraid you don't understand, Allison." Derek said. "If my Uncle somehow finds out about Holler he might get ideas I don't even want to think of. I may have worked with him, but that was only because we needed as many people here as possible. There's no lost love between my uncle and me, I assure you. He's manipulative; borderline evil. He cares for nothing but his own agenda. We shouldn't forget about him."

"Then we'll stay on the lookout." John spoke up and Derek nodded. "He's a wanted man. I can have patrols discreetly looking for him. In a few days we'll know where he is and what he's doing. In the meantime you guys concentrate on finding a way to save Stiles."

"That's a good plan." Scott said and nodded. "We can all watch Stiles while we're at school. Who's taking first watch tomorrow afternoon?"

"I can do that." Derek said and surprised everyone. "I just came back. You told me you all tried to talk to him already. Holler might get suspicious if we start hording him. He won't suspect me."

"You and Stiles weren't the best of friends, Derek." Isaac said and Derek shifted his weight and cleared his throat making everyone frown.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lydia asked and Derek looked at her.

"Before everyone, before school started and the Alpha Pack and Jennifer came out, I asked Stiles for help in research."

"What?!" several surprised exclamations made Derek wince.

"When did that happen?" Scott asked

"A few days after we've dealt with Gerard, I called Stiles and asked him for help. He agreed to listen in to his dad's business and look for any possible leads that the Alpha Pack is coming. I asked him to keep it all secret so he wouldn't bring himself into unnecessary danger. I also asked him not to tell anyone anything because I considered it all to be my fault. Stiles agreed to help me on the condition that I-…" he stopped and everyone leaned closer in interest. Derek cleared his throat and shifted his weight again as if uncomfortable.

"Under what condition?" an exasperated sigh left Derek's lips at Lydia's question and he rolled his eyes.

"I do believe he said something like 'get the stick out of my ass and finally act like a human and not a damn Sourwolf'." Despite the situation everyone started to laugh and Derek groaned lowly.

"That does sound like Stiles." John murmured and everyone nodded in agreement.

"So he knew all along." Scott murmured and bowed his head sadly. He looked up when Derek walked over to him and placed his right hand on his shoulder.

"Don't blame him. I asked him to keep quiet because I honestly believed it wasn't your battle to fight. I even made him swear to do his best to stay away from it all. We all know how well _that_ went." A round of chuckles followed Derek's sarcasm filled exclamation. "He didn't lie to you because he was angry with you or because he wanted to. He hid it from you because I asked him to."

"I _was_ wondering why you two weren't biting each other's heads off as much as you used to." Scott murmured and Derek chuckled.

"Like I said; we came to an agreement." Derek took a step back and Scott nodded at him. "But now we have other things to worry about." Everyone stood up slowly and Derek and Scott faced them all.

"I'll come here tomorrow. We need to start on research as soon as possible." Lydia said, and Aiden, Ethan, Allison, Isaac and Danny nodded in agreement.

"I'll prepare my books." Deaton said.

"Derek, you'll meet up with Stiles tomorrow. Make sure you don't go near the forest. I'll go and sniff around a bit." Scott said and everyone frowned at him.

"I don't want you to go alone." Mellissa said, and before Scott could say something Isaac spoke up.

"I agree. At least take me or Allison with you." Derek, who stood closest to Scott, didn't miss the minute tensing of Scott's body.

"I think they're right." He murmured and Scott looked at him. "We don't know what you could run into. There could be other Hunters out there, or you could run into my Uncle. It's best if you don't go alone." Scott sighed and nodded.

"Alright; who wants to go with me?"

"I will." Isaac said and smiled a small, crocked smile. "I was never much for research." Everyone chuckled at that while Scott nodded shortly.

"Alright; let's go home now. It's getting late and we all need to rest." In that moment everyone tensed up when a shiver ran down their spines and the wolves heard a triumphant howl echo though the night.

"What was that?" Lydia whimpered and Aiden pulled her against his strong body. "I felt – I felt as though I was drenched in cold water."

"I felt it as well, on a smaller scale." Deaton said and looked at the wolves.

"We heard a howl." Scott murmured and looked at Derek who was frowning darkly. He looked at Scott and his eyes shone blue for a moment.

"It didn't sound familiar." He muttered. "This makes it even more pressing that you don't go alone tomorrow."

"Could it have been Peter?" Allison asked and Derek shook his head.

"I don't know. It didn't sound like his call, and then again I never heard such a call before."

"Neither did we." Ethan said.

"And we hung around Deucalion." Aiden muttered and his twin shivered.

"I'm going with you tomorrow." Isaac said and looked at Scott in a way that didn't leave place for arguments. Scott nodded and took a deep breath.

"Good luck everyone. I have a feeling we'll need it."

* * *

"You should go back. The Sheriff might wonder where his son is." Peter spoke as he watched with a leering gaze as the body he tasted mere minutes ago moved around naked under the moonlight. Bruises and cuts that were the work of his claws and fangs were slowly healing as Holler gathered his clothes and pulled them on.

"You shouldn't worry your pretty little head with what I do, Peter." Holler spoke as he got dressed and zipped up the red hoody. He turned around and Peter shivered when a pair of black eyes looked at him. Holler smirked at him and licked his kiss abused lips. "Don't forget who I am." Peter snorted and rolled his eyes.

"You shouldn't underestimate them. They aren't as dumb as they may seem." Peter drawled only to find himself under Holler with his clawed hand around his throat and those black voids he had for eyes gazing deep into his own.

"**I am Death and Destruction."** He hissed threateningly. **"Do you really think I will worry about a handful of Werewolves barely out of their diapers, a human sheriff, a nurse and a little Banshee? They are so far below me that I could step on them and I wouldn't even notice. You should watch your tongue, Peter. Just because I chose you to alleviate my boredom, doesn't mean I won't kill you if you cross the line."** Peter swallowed difficultly and nodded minutely. Holler smirked darkly and pushed himself away from Peter. He chuckled and turned his back on him.

"I'll see you when I see you." He waved carelessly and walked away, leaving Peter alone on the Nemeton. Peter growled lowly and took a seat. He fixed his clothes and snorted as he stood up. He looked at his hands and slowly shifted. He snorted when he felt the power surging through his body.

"Well." He murmured and shifted back before he raised his head towards the moon. "This has more benefits than I thought." He smirked and closed his eyes as he took a deep breath. Something in him twitched when the scent that still hung around him tickled his nose. He opened his eyes and growled lowly.

He finally had what he wanted for a while now.

He finally had Stiles; so why wasn't he feeling as good as he should be?

He shook his head and pushed the questions plaguing him to the back of his mind. He turned on his heel and made his way back into the forest only to stop in his tracks when a wave of something dark washed over his body. A feeling of impending dread filled his heart and he shivered when his breath caught in his throat.

A small, very small part of him worried, but he suppressed it as deep as he could.

He finally found a source of power. Nothing would stop him.

Nothing and no one.

* * *

A dark, sinister chuckle echoed through the forest of Beacon Hills as black eyes watched Peter Hale walk out of the forest. He looked up at the moon and a shiver ran down his body. He looked down at his hand and fisted it as new power surged through his veins.

'**Power-hungry fool.'** He thought as a dark smirk covered the face of the boy he was possessing. He chuckled as he opened his mind to the kid's soul. **'You're awfully quiet, kiddo.'** He thought with a mocking smirk obvious in his voice. **'Don't tell me you're angry with me. Weren't you always crying that you were tired of being the designated virgin?'** He cooed at Stiles, enjoying the tremors of pain and horror and sorrow that were wrecking the kid's soul.

'You disgusting, evil, son of a fucking bitch!' Holler laughed at Stiles as all those emotions turned into rage. 'I'll fucking murder you! I'll turn you into fucking dust, you fucked up bastard!'

Holler laughed as the teen cried tears of rage and pain.

'**He'll never want you now, Genim; not after his uncle had you first.'**

'Why are you doing this?! Why don't you just kill me?!' the god of Death and Destruction laughed mockingly.

'**Do you really think I need a reason?'** Holler drawled and Stiles screamed when pain surged through him. **'It's who I am, kid. Like I said; sit back and enjoy the ride. Look at the bright side; at least you won't die a virgin!'** and as he laughed he closed Stiles back into the darkness of his mind, replaying again and again and again the events of the night.

Holler chuckled and made his way out of the forest. In that moment he felt a wave of something wash over him and he stopped in his tracks. He looked up at the moon with a frown and his nose twitched.

'**I must have imagined it.'** He thought carelessly and made his way back to town.

He had nothing to worry about; nothing to worry about at all.

* * *

_Be careful._

Derek swallowed as he turned his phone off, taking Scott's worried SMS to heart. He took a deep breath and looked at the entrance to the school. The students were slowly leaving and Derek had yet to spot Stiles.

In all honesty, he didn't know what to do. He had no idea what to say; what to say and how to act as not to make Holler suspicious. Even though he didn't show it last night, Derek was angry. He was angry and worried and he had the need to stick his claws into Holler and pull him out of Stiles. But he knew he couldn't.

He couldn't risk Stiles' safety; not after everything the teen lived through.

He looked up again and frowned when he saw that barely a handful of students were still on the parking lot. He looked back at the entrance in time to see Stiles step out, and his breath hitched in his throat.

The teen looked better than he ever looked.

He stood taller and his shoulders were straight. He held his head high and his eyes were looking around watchfully, his full lips pulled into a thin line, and his hair ruffled in every-which direction.

Derek felt something in him clench and his mouth dried as his heart filled with hatred.

He suppressed it all and strengthened his resolve.

He would help save him.

Stiles saved him.

It was time he returned the favor.

* * *

Holler felt uneasy as he made his way to Stiles' Jeep. He dug through his pockets as he reached it and cursed under his breath when he realized he threw the keys into the bag. He took it off of his back and all but threw it on the hood of the blue abomination the kid called a car.

"You seem nervous." Holler looked up and his eyes widened when he saw the tall, muscled form of Derek Hale leaning on the side of the car in his trademark black leather jacket and his massive arms crossed over his chest. His handsome face carried a small, challenging smirk and his eyes were glimmering with something Holler couldn't name.

"Derek?" he stuttered out. He didn't need to fake surprise. He was honestly shocked with seeing the former Alpha leaning casually against Stiles' car. "What – What the hell are you doing here?!" Derek chuckled and pushed himself away from the car. He pushed his hands into the pockets of his jacket and took a step closer to Stiles.

"I was hoping for a warmer welcome." He drawled and Holler looked around quickly.

"You're not supposed to be here." He managed to say and Derek snorted and rolled his eyes.

"I can leave-…"

"No!" Holler snapped, finally getting a grip over himself. **'Damn it; I didn't plan this!'** he thought and made sure Stiles couldn't hear or see anything. "No; I'm just – I'm just surprised to see you." He said and Derek chuckled.

"I bet." He murmured and Holler raised an eyebrow at him.

"It's good to see you, Derek. I see you finally pulled the stick out of your ass." He drawled and Derek winced.

"Yeah." He pressed out through his teeth and Holler looked around.

"So; what are you actually doing here? Did you see the others?"

"No." Derek shook his head and shifted his weight. "I wanted to see you first." Holler raised an eyebrow at the Werewolf and Derek returned it equally. "What?"

"You wanted to see _me_ first? Shouldn't you pay a visit to the local Alpha first?" Derek rolled his eyes and sighed dramatically.

"Stiles." He murmured warningly and Holler snickered.

"Right." he mumbled. "So, what brings you back to Beacon Hills?" Holler asked as he went back to searching for the keys of Stiles' Jeep. **'This changes a few things. I'll have to be a bit more careful.'** He thought as Derek leaned back against the Jeep, his piercing eyes still focused on Holler.

"A lot of things." the Werewolf said. "The biggest reason why I came back is you." Holler finally found the keys. He looked at Derek with a raised eyebrow and the Werewolf rolled his eyes.

"Really, now; you came back because of little ol' me?" Derek snorted and pushed away from the car.

"I'm starting to remember why I couldn't stand you before." He pressed out through his teeth and Holler laughed. **'Maybe I should let the kid listen in to this.'** He thought as he leaned on the Jeep with his arms crossed over his chest and a coy look on his face.

"Come on, Sourwolf." He drawled. "You know you love me." Derek looked at him and Holler raised an eyebrow at the expression on Derek's face and the look in his eyes. "What?" he murmured after a few minutes and Derek shook his head.

"You – You hadn't changed at all." Holler couldn't name the emotion that colored Derek's voice so he chose to ignore it. He shrugged and pushed away from the car. He smirked and clapped Derek's shoulder a few times.

"I'm still your good ol' Stiles-Pain-In-The-Ass-Stilinski." He winked at Derek, doing his best to ignore the look the Werewolf was shooting him. "Come on, Sourwolf. I'm sure you didn't come back just so we could stand in the parking lot of the one place every normal human wants to run from. Dad's in the station so why don't you and I go for a drink. I'm sure you have a _lot_ to say." Holler rounded the car to get to the driver's seat and grinned at Derek over the hood. "If you can still fit in my little car, that is." Derek huffed and rolled his eyes. They got in at the same time and Holler smirked at Derek as he started the car and drove off the parking lot.

'**He suspects nothing. I'll just have to be a bit more careful and push the kid's scent to the front.'** He thought as he drove onto the road and towards the town. His eyes strayed to Derek when the Werewolf settled more comfortably in the passenger seat and he took a good look of the former Alpha. **'Damn, kid. You really have good taste. If I had known he would return I wouldn't have taken Peter.'** He smirked as he looked at the road. **'Even though it doesn't propose a problem.'** he chuckled and Derek looked at him.

"What?" the Werewolf asked and Holler shrugged.

"Nothing; just thinking how you hadn't changed at all. You're still the Sourwolf I remember." Derek snorted and looked out the window again.

"Sure." He grumbled and Holler chuckled.

"Our old place?" he asked and Derek hummed.

"Sure."

* * *

Derek waved as he watched the blue Jeep disappear around a corner. He pushed his hands into his pockets and let go of a heavy sigh.

"If I didn't know he was possessed I would have never guessed." He said and looked over his shoulder just as Scott and Isaac walked out of the shadows of a small street.

"Judging by the scent that's all over you, I'd say that damn _god's_ gotten better at hiding his own scent." Isaac pressed out through his teeth and Scott nodded before he looked Derek in the eyes.

"Anything?" the young Alpha asked and Derek shook his head.

"I found nothing that would indicate that it's not Stiles inside that body; if I didn't know better I would say it's still him." He growled, and Scott and Isaac frowned. "Did you two find anything?"

"Maybe we should take this inside." Scott suggested and Derek nodded. Minutes later they were inside Derek's old loft, and the former Alpha raised an eyebrow when he found it in perfect condition.

"We took the liberty to fix it up a bit." Scott said as they took seats at the table and Derek nodded.

"Thank you." Once they settled around the table Scott sighed and rubbed his forehead tiredly with his hand.

"Isaac and I went back to the Nemeton. We found nothing but a strange scent in the air. It was heavy and somehow musky." Scott said and Derek frowned thoughtfully.

"I'll go there tomorrow and check it out myself. Did you talk with the others?" he asked.

"Yeah; they found nothing on how to save Stiles yet. They'll continue tomorrow." Isaac said.

"Who's with Stiles tomorrow?"

"His dad took the morning shift; he'll watch over Stiles tomorrow." Scott said and Derek nodded.

"I'll check the Nemeton then and join them at Deaton's once I'm done."

"I don't want you to go alone." Scott said and Derek frowned at him. "One scent I _did_ recognize." Isaac nodded at Scott's words and Derek's frown deepened. "Peter was there for whatever reason."

"My uncle was there?"

"Yeah; we tried to follow his scent but we lost it when we returned to town." Isaac said and Derek nodded.

"Who'd go with me?"

"I'll go." Scott said before Isaac could speak up. "Isaac, you'll join the others at Deaton's." Isaac nodded with a small frown, and Derek raised an eyebrow at the two teens.

"Alright." The youngest among them murmured, and he and Scott stood up slowly with Derek following close behind.

"Get some rest, Derek. I'll see you tomorrow afternoon." Derek nodded and Scott smiled at him. Once the two were gone Derek took a deep breath and looked out the window. With slow, easy steps he made his way around the apartment. Memories filled his mind and a small sigh escaped his lips. He made his way up the stairs and walked down the hall towards the last door. He smiled slightly when he found them locked. 'They must have cleaned up the first floor only.' He thought as he took his keys and unlocked the door. He took a deep breath and entered the room; his work room. He walked over to the table and took a seat. He relaxed in it as he looked around with a small nostalgic smile on his face. He opened the first drawer and took out a picture frame and swallowed over a lump that suddenly appeared in his throat.

He looked at the photo that was taken last summer. It was taken on one of the occasions he asked Stiles to meet him in his apartment so the teen could tell him any news he found out while listening to his dad. Isaac wasn't home at that time, and Derek just came back from doing his rounds. He forgot that Stiles was supposed to come so he fell asleep. The photo was of him sleeping calmly in his bed. He took the photo out and looked at the quickly scribbled note on the back.

_This was the first time I didn't see you scowling, Sourwolf.__  
__You should sleep more._

Derek had to hold back as the need to fling the photo to the other side of the room became strong. He quickly placed the photo in the drawer and stood up. He needed to move. The afternoon he spent with Stiles – with _Holler_ – it resembled the few times he spent with Stiles during the summer. A few times he even forgot it wasn't Stiles who was sitting in front of him; it was a monster possessing Stiles' body.

But his movements were still his own; his scent was still his.

And Derek was angry; he was getting angrier with every thought.

Stiles saved him.

He may not have done it intentionally, but Stiles saved him. Somehow, the teen crawled under his skin and made everything so much simpler; clearer. Derek would never know how he would react to finding out Jennifer was the Darach if Stiles didn't become such a big part of his life. Stiles somehow managed to awaken things inside him that Derek thought were dead; things that died with Paige, feelings Kate abused and turned against him.

Derek walked down the stairs and stopped in his tracks when his eyes fell on the bookshelves on the other side of the room. He walked over to it slowly and once he reached it he started going through books one by one.

Stiles saved him consciously or unconsciously; it didn't matter.

And Derek would save him; no matter what.

* * *

"What's going on between you and Isaac?" Derek asked only to raise an eyebrow in amusement when Scott tripped on what seemed like thin air.

"What are you talking about?" the young Alpha stuttered out and Derek rolled his eyes and continued walking towards the Nemeton.

"Your relationship was better when I left." He remarked as Scott caught up with him. Derek looked at Scott and found him frowning at the ground thoughtfully. "Scott?"

"There's something going on between Allison and him." Scott murmured and Derek raised an eyebrow at him. "I – I'm fine with it, really. I'm their Alpha and it's my job to make sure they're happy, but-…"

"But it still hurts." Derek concluded and Scott nodded. "You still have feelings for Allison?"

"Yeah." The younger man murmured and Derek sighed.

"And what about Isaac; do you still have feelings for him?"

"WHAT?!" the Alpha jumped and Derek's eyebrows met the line of his hair.

"What?" he drawled and Scott blushed to the roots of his hair.

"I don't – I never – What – Isaac and I-…"

"Scott, I'm not an idiot." Derek interrupted Scott and they stopped in their tracks. Derek sighed and dragged his fingers through his hair before he looked at Scott. "Look, I know we were never really friends, but I'm neither blind nor stupid. I know I made a lot of mistakes, and that I've kept secrets from you and – well, I was a right jerk." Scott smiled weakly at Derek and the former Alpha returned it equally. "I've seen how Isaac looks at you, and I've seen the way you looked at him. I know you love Allison, but did you ever think about your feelings for Isaac?" Scott frowned thoughtfully and looked at the ground.

"I know I wanted to help him. I know I wanted to keep him safe." Scott said and looked at Derek from under his fringe. The older Werewolf nodded and moved forward with Scott walking right beside him.

"Was it any different with Allison?" Derek asked and Scott sighed.

"I don't know. Derek, I never took myself for anything but straight!" Derek chuckled and shook his head.

"You're making it more complicated than it is when you bring it all down to sexuality." Derek said and Scott looked at him with a confused frown. "Look at Stiles; he makes it all pretty simple." Scott snorted and rolled his eyes.

"Please; he had us all convinced that he was head over heels in love with Lydia." Scott murmured and Derek nodded.

"And in a way I have no doubt that he was, but in case you didn't notice, Stiles doesn't have eyes only for Lydia."

"How do you know all that?" Scott asked and Derek shrugged.

"I'm more of an observer than a talker." He muttered and Scott snorted.

"We all noticed that." Derek chuckled just as they finally reached the Nemeton. They stopped and looked around and Derek raised his head as he took a deep breath.

"You were right. My Uncle was here." He murmured.

"Do you recognize the other scent?" Scott asked as Derek made his way over to the Nemeton.

"No." Derek frowned as he reached the old root and a faded scent tickled his nose. "But I can tell you what happened here." He pressed out through his teeth and looked at Scott with dark eyes.

"What happened?" Derek moved away from the Nemeton and rubbed his nose, trying to erase the stench.

"Someone had sex on that thing." He growled and Scott choked up and paled.

"You mean like-…"

"Yeah; and one of them was my Uncle." Scott looked as though he would puke while Derek sniffed the air and looked around.

"Could it be that Holler isn't our only problem?" Scott asked and Derek sighed.

"I don't know. Rain fell last night so there's no way for us to track either scents. We'll just have to keep our eyes and ears open."

"We should go back. Night will fall soon and I still need to pick up Isaac from Deaton's." They made their way out of the forest and Scott shivered under Derek's watchful gaze.

"Scott, I know I don't exactly have the right to tell you what to do; you're an Alpha now-..."

"And you're my Beta and someone who has more experience in many things than I do." Derek raised a surprised eyebrow at him and Scott chuckled. "What? You didn't think I'd accept you as my Beta? Derek , both you and I did stupid things in the past. I think we should both just forget it and start again; if you want to that is." Derek chuckled and shook his head.

"I wouldn't have returned if I didn't." He said and Scott nodded, and they continued on their way out of the forest.

"So; what will you do about Isaac and Allison?" Derek asked and Scott sighed.

"They seem to be really happy together. I don't want to get between them." Derek nodded in understanding.

"If you need to talk, I'll listen." Scott smiled and clapped Derek's shoulder.

"Thanks, dude. I'm glad you're back." Derek chuckled and nudged Scott's shoulder with his own.

"I'm glad I chose to come back, Scott." The young Alpha smiled and straightened.

The situation was nowhere near good, but they would fix it. They would find a way to save Stiles and they would handle whatever else came together.

They were a Pack.

Finally, they were a real Pack.

* * *

'You're worried about something.' Holler snorted when Stiles spoke up. He was sitting in Stiles' bedroom and listening to John moving around the house quietly.

'**Your almost-lover's back in town.'** Holler felt the shiver that shook Stiles and the teen trapped in the darkness of his mind choked up.

'Derek?' he breathed out and Holler chuckled.

'**We spent a lovely afternoon together yesterday. I can see why you want to jump him; he's quite mouthwatering.'**

'Don't you dare-...' Stiles growled and Holler raised an amused eyebrow. 'Don't you _dare_ hurt him!' Stiles snapped and Holler chuckled.

'**Oh, I won't hurt him. His Uncle is good, but Derek? Derek is young and strong. I could have some use of him.'**

'If you try anything, he'll figure it out. He's not an idiot. He knows me. He won't fall for your tricks!'

'**Are you sure? Because it seemed to me he was quite eager to meet you. After all, he came to you first.'** Stiles went quiet while Holler enjoyed the feelings of doubt and confusion rolling off of Stiles in steady waves. **'What is it, kid? Wolf-pup got your tongue?'** he teased.

'You're a monster. They'll figure it out sooner or later. They'll stop you, and this time you won't be able to escape. They'll destroy you.' Holler laughed at that with his head thrown back.

'**By the time they figure it all out it will already be too late, Genim. Trust me; I'm growing stronger with each passing minute. Just a few more days and I'll be powerful enough to retain a physical form. So enjoy life while you can, Genim. In just a few short days, you'll meet your mommy again.' **After he forcefully locked Stiles in the back of his mind, Holler frowned and fisted his hands as he gazed at his reflection.

"**No one will stand in my way."** He growled. **"No one."**

* * *

He snorted as he looked up at the blue sky. People were moving around him minding their own business, not even paying attention to him.

'_The world has changed.'_ He thought as he walked out on the street and made his way over to a taxi. _'These humans are even more pitiful than they were.'_

"To the airport." He said shortly when he entered the cab and the man at the wheel nodded. He leaned back in his seat and looked out on the street.

'_I hope you're ready for me Holler; because once I find you I'll rip your throat out like I should have done centuries ago.'_ A smirk covered his features and he crossed his arms over his chest as the soul of the human whose body he was possessing screamed in pain.

'_You'll meet your end!'_

* * *

Peter lay on the Nemeton gasping for breath as Holler got off of him and moved away to gather Stiles' clothes off of the floor. The Werewolf looked up and raised an eyebrow when he saw the frown on the handsome face.

Holler got dressed as the cuts and bruises Peter left on Stiles' body healed and made his way back to the city.

"What; no cuddling?" Peter called out teasingly and Holler glared at him over his shoulder. Peter sighed and took a seat, not minding the chill of the evening biting on his naked body. "Is there something wrong, _my lord_?" he drawled and Holler turned to look at him. He looked to the side with a thoughtful frown on his face.

"**I feel something coming."** He finally spoke up and Peter frowned. **"I still can't determine what or who it is, but I can feel it nearing."**

"An enemy?" the Werewolf asked as he stood up and started putting his clothes on.

"**It could be. The power of the Nemeton could be calling other creatures to Beacon Hills. I wasn't the only God sealed away by the Druids."** Peter raised an eyebrow at him as he pulled his shirt on.

"Ah, well. You'll just have to get stronger faster." He said and Holler looked at him with a glare.

"**It will only take a few more days and I'll be back to my full power."** He growled and Peter hummed. **"Nothing will be able to stop me then."** Peter smirked and clasped his hands behind his back.

"You're not at all worried about the local geek squad, are you?" he murmured and Holler snorted depreciatingly.

"**Without Genim they won't figure anything out in time. Besides, even if they do, there is nothing they can do anymore. If they try to pull me out of him, he'll die; simple as that. And while he'll die I will only grow stronger and retain my physical form. They can do nothing."** Peter frowned slightly as Holler smirked and shrugged carelessly. **"Whatever is coming isn't nearly as powerful as I am right now, and I'll only grow stronger."**

"So, there's no way for Stiles to survive?" Peter asked and Holler raised an eyebrow at him with a mocking smirk on his face.

"**What is this, Peter?"** the ancient god prowled forward towards Peter with a mocking gleam in his eyes. **"Don't tell me you actually _care_ about this boy. I thought he was just a tool for you to get more power."**

"I don't _care_ about him, but you shouldn't underestimate him or his friends. They've already proved they're quite resourceful." Holler laughed and Peter shivered at the sound of pure evil.

"**Just because they beat you, a Kanima, a Darach and a bunch of Alphas, doesn't mean they'll manage to defeat me. I am beyond anything they have ever faced and above everything they could ever fight. I'm more powerful than they could ever hope to be."** Peter shivered when Holler placed his hands on his chest and leaned closer until his lips were a mere breath away from his. **"Don't you worry your pretty little head, Peter; I won't be beaten. I won't be destroyed; by them or by anyone else."** Peter nodded minutely as Holler's intoxicating breath fanned over his face.

**"I will kill them all."** Holler's eyes turned black and his eyeteeth sharpened. **"I will destroy the world. I will make it _burn_!"**

* * *

**Hope you liked it!****  
****More comes as soon as possible!**

**All my love,****  
****Ms. Yuki**


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